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The Kashruth History of Coca Cola

On twitter I recently came across a great little article on the history of coca cola, and particularly how it became kosher.

The formula for coca cola, arguably one of the best kept trade-secrets ever, apparently had two major halakhic (according to Jewish law) problems with certifying it as being kosher. We all owe it to the late Rabbi Tobias Geffen, zichrono livracha (may his memory be a blessing), who was the incumbent Rabbi at Shearith Israel in Atlanta, GA from 1910 to 1970. Apparently, it wasn’t until 1935 when Coca Cola was certified as being kosher.

The first major issue concerning the kashruth of Coca Cola was that one of it’s ingredients, albeit only in 1 part per 1000 (much less than the 1 part per 60 – batel be’shishim – permitted in Judaism), was beef-derived glycerin. Rabbi Geffen explained that even though the questionable ingredient is in such small amounts because it is intentionally being used as an ingredient, the rule of it being an insignificant amount does not apply. The rule of batel be’shishim is only applicable in situations when the questionable ingredient has accidentally made its way into the cooking of a specific dish. This issue was quickly amended when Coca Cola adopted a plant-derived glycerin.

The second problem concerning the kashruth of Coca Cola was that the sugars were derived from grains which then makes it unfit for consumption during Passover. The Coca Cola company’s concession was that in the weeks prior to Passover, they would substitute the grain-derived sugars with sugars derived from beets and sugar-cane.